History of Ekrem İmamoğlu in Timeline

Ekrem İmamoğlu is a prominent Turkish politician and the current Mayor of Istanbul. He initially won the mayoral election in March 2019 as the Nation Alliance candidate but the election was annulled. He then secured a decisive victory in the re-run election in June 2019, winning by a significant margin. He was re-elected again in 2024. Before becoming Mayor of Istanbul, İmamoğlu served as the Mayor of Beylikdüzü from 2014 to 2019. He is associated with the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Good Party, representing a social democratic political stance.

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Full Timeline Career & Achievements

June 1970: Ekrem İmamoğlu born

Ekrem İmamoğlu was born on June 4, 1970, and is now the 32nd Mayor of Istanbul.

June 1970: Born in Akçaabat

On June 4, 1970, Ekrem İmamoğlu was born in the town of Akçaabat, west of Trabzon.

1987: Family moved to Istanbul

In 1987, İmamoğlu's family moved to Istanbul.

1995: Married Dilek Kaya

In 1995, İmamoğlu married Dilek Kaya, and they have three children together.

2002: Joined Trabzonspor Board

In 2002, İmamoğlu became a board member of Trabzonspor, and also served as vice president of the basketball team.

2008: Joined Republican People's Party

In 2008, İmamoğlu joined the Republican People's Party (CHP).

September 2009: Elected head of CHP youth wing

In September 2009, İmamoğlu was elected as the head of the CHP's youth wing and was selected as the president of the party's local chapter in Beylikdüzü.

March 2012: Re-elected president of CHP Beylikdüzü

In March 2012, İmamoğlu was re-elected as the president of the CHP's local chapter in the Istanbul district of Beylikdüzü.

July 2013: Resigned to run for Mayor of Beylikdüzü

On July 15, 2013, İmamoğlu resigned as president of CHP Beylikdüzü to run for mayor of Beylikdüzü.

March 2014: Won Beylikdüzü mayoral election

On March 30, 2014, İmamoğlu won the election and became the Mayor of Beylikdüzü with 50.83% of the vote.

2014: Mayor of Beylikdüzü

Between 2014 and 2019, Ekrem İmamoğlu served as the Mayor of Beylikdüzü, a western district of Istanbul.

September 2017: Nominated to replace Kadir Topbaş

Following Kadir Topbaş's resignation, İmamoğlu was nominated by the CHP to replace him as Mayor of Istanbul in September 2017.

December 2018: Nominated for Istanbul Mayoral Election

On December 18, 2018, the CHP nominated İmamoğlu for the 2019 Istanbul mayoral election.

March 2019: Elected Mayor of Istanbul

In March 2019, Ekrem İmamoğlu was first elected as the Mayor of Istanbul with 4.1 million votes, narrowly defeating his AKP opponent.

March 2019: Defeated Binali Yıldırım

On March 31, 2019, İmamoğlu defeated AK Party candidate Binali Yıldırım in the Istanbul mayoral election by roughly 25,000 votes.

April 2019: Served as Mayor of Istanbul

Ekrem İmamoğlu served as Mayor of Istanbul from April 17, 2019, but his term was cut short.

May 2019: Election Annulled

On May 6, 2019, the March 2019 mayoral election that İmamoğlu won was annulled.

May 2019: Supreme Electoral Council annulled election

On May 6, 2019, the Supreme Electoral Council annulled the election results, leading to İmamoğlu's removal as Mayor of Istanbul.

May 2019: Supreme Electoral Council annuls mayoral election results

On May 6, 2019, the Supreme Electoral Council annulled the results of the mayoral election and cancelled İmamoğlu's mayoral certificate. A new election was called.

June 2019: Re-elected as Mayor of Istanbul

Ekrem İmamoğlu was re-elected as Mayor of Istanbul in a renewed election on June 23, 2019, with a larger margin of 800,000 votes.

June 2019: İmamoğlu re-elected as mayor

On June 23, 2019, İmamoğlu was re-elected as the mayor of Istanbul by a margin of approximately 800,000 votes.

November 2019: İmamoğlu awarded Kybele German-Turkish Friendship Award

In November 2019, Ekrem İmamoğlu received the Kybele German-Turkish Friendship Award, presented by former German President Christian Wulff.

November 2020: Security guards instructed to be more careful

On November 23, 2020, İmamoğlu's security guards were instructed to "be more careful" following ISIS assassination plot.

December 2020: Works completed in chronically flooded locations

As of December 2020, works were completed in 63 of 104 chronically flooded locations in Istanbul under the coordination of IMM.

December 2020: Reported ISIS assassination plot

On December 1, 2020, OdaTV reported that the Islamic State plotted to assassinate İmamoğlu, leading to increased security measures.

2020: İmamoğlu addresses LGBTQ+ rights

In 2020, İmamoğlu reaffirmed his commitment to safeguarding the civil rights of LGBTQ+ citizens, while also noting that society may not be ready for same-sex marriage legalization.

June 2021: Regional Employment Offices enabled citizens to participate in employment

As of June 2021, Regional Employment Offices enabled more than 17 thousand citizens to participate in employment.

January 2022: Trial for "insulting electoral officials"

In January 2022, İmamoğlu faced trial for allegedly "insulting electoral officials," in a case perceived as politically motivated.

December 2022: Ekrem İmamoğlu sentenced to prison

In December 2022, Ekrem İmamoğlu was sentenced to two years in prison for insulting the Turkish Supreme Election Council. This event was viewed as an attempt to undermine opposition and drew international criticism.

December 2022: Sentenced to prison and banned from politics

On December 14, 2022, İmamoğlu was sentenced to 2 years, 7 months, and 15 days in prison and was banned from politics, pending appeals.

May 2023: İmamoğlu calls for changes in CHP

Following Recep Tayyip Erdogan's victory in the presidential runoff election in May 2023, Ekrem İmamoğlu advocated for significant reforms within the Republican People's Party (CHP).

2023: İmamoğlu named as vice-president candidate

In 2023, Ekrem İmamoğlu was named as a vice-president candidate alongside Mansur Yavaş and other leaders in the Nation Alliance for the Turkish presidential elections, where Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu was running for president.